Intertesting article on Mogadishu, business, & no gov't
X-URL: http://www10.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/081000somalia-govern.html August 10, 2000 MOGADISHU JOURNAL Somali Businesses Stunted by Too-Free Enterprise By IAN FISHER M OGADISHU, Somalia, Aug. 7 -- There are five competing airlines here; three phone companies, which have some of the cheapest rates in the world; at least two pasta factories; 45 private hospitals; 55 providers of electricity; 1,500 wholesalers for imported goods; and an infinite number of guys with donkeys who will deliver 55 gallons of clean water to your house for 25 cents. What Somalia does not have is a government, and in many ways, that makes it the world's purest laboratory for capitalism. No one collects taxes. Business is booming. Libertarians of the world, unite! So it may come as a surprise that business people in Mogadishu, the wrecked and lawless capital, are begging for a government. They would love to be taxed and would gladly let politicians meddle at least a bit in their affairs. .. -- A host is a host from coast to [EMAIL PROTECTED] & no one will talk to a host that's close[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead20915-1433
Re: Intertesting article on Mogadishu, business, & no gov't
-- At 09:06 AM 8/10/2000 -0400, David Lesher wrote: > X-URL: http://www10.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/081000somalia-govern.html > > So it may come as a surprise that business people in Mogadishu, > the wrecked and lawless capital, are begging for a government. > They would love to be taxed and would gladly let politicians > meddle at least a bit in their affairs. I have been following this peace conference, and I do not find it very worrying. If some of these groups were saying "I want a government, and I want it so much I am prepared to sacrifice something important", then there would be some danger that the peace conference might produce a government. Instead they are saying "It is vital to the interests of Somalia that someone else be sacrificed to benefit me, and we need a government in order to force these selfish people to make the necessary sacrifices to help me carry out my benevolent intentions." While most people at the peace conference are in favor of some sort of government, they are in favor of very different governments, so there is little likelihood they will agree. Each of the big clans wants a powerful government dominated by their particular clan. (Hence the numerous and passionate disputes as to where the new capital shall be.) Each of the business groups wants a limited government, limited to giving them special monopolistic privileges, but no similar privileges to any other business group "I am in favor of free markets, except that my business is a special case". Each of the small clans wants a limited government, limited to restraining the power of the big clans. And so on and so forth. The conference has become a bid for power by the big clans at the expense of everyone else. But the big clans will not agree amongst themselves, and if they did, they would still not have the power to make the government they created stick. As soon as it becomes obvious to all the other interest groups that they are screwed, the shit will hit the fan. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG hxvGCMkAUiIUzRf2vrGH/ae8spQRH+FCIGgknv2/ 4dgJsD0P5LiyXrVuZhLczQnbuqueL3TClDQv2j/WR
Re: Intertesting article on Mogadishu, business, & no gov't
>http://www10.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/081000somalia-govern.html > > > > So it may come as a surprise that business people in Mogadishu, > > the wrecked and lawless capital, are begging for a government. > > They would love to be taxed and would gladly let politicians > > meddle at least a bit in their affairs. There were two basically different types of requests for governments. Some people said they wanted a government to stop bandits from robbing and extorting from them, believing that a government police force would be much more efficient than everybody having to hire their own guards (and often the guards they hire would otherwise be the bandits robbing them.) Other people said they wanted a government because they needed roads, electricity, a seaport, and other economic infrastructure to be provided, presumably paid for by other people's tax money. Greedy bastards - they ought to get together with others in their community and build some. (Somewhere in between there were people who'd like some infrastructure, and who might believe a free market could provide them, but don't believe the current bandit-ruled market can do so. Free riders are one thing, but constant robbery is a higher barrier.) Part of the problem is the failure of traditional Somali critiarchy to adapt to cities, and to rebuild itself in areas that have previously been run by corrupt dictatorial post-colonial governments. Traditional Somali society doesn't have permanent police, but when families and tribal judges can't get cooperation with confict resolution, everybody who's armed becomes the police. This means occasional violent conflicts, but there's very seldom anything resembling war, especially prolonged war. But the concentration of power in and around Mogadishu appears to have corrupted the process, and enough people are living as robbers outside the normal tribal structures. (I'm not saying that there weren't cattle-rustlers inside the normal tribal structure, but this urban thuggery has a much different character.) Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, [EMAIL PROTECTED] PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
